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Louvre

Museum

6 Hours

Estimated Time

The Louvre (US: ), or the Louvre Museum (French: Musée du Louvre [myze dy luvʁ] ( listen)), is the world's largest art museum and a historic monument in Paris, France. A central landmark of the city, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement (district or ward). Approximately 38,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are exhibited over an area of 72,735 square metres (782,910 square feet). In 2017, the Louvre was the world's most visited art museum, receiving 8.1 million visitors.
The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace, originally built as a fortress in the late 12th to 13th century under Philip II. Remnants of the fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. Due to the urban expansion of the city, the fortress eventually lost its defensive function and, in 1546, was converted by Francis I into the main residence of the French Kings. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace. In 1682, Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his household, leaving the Louvre primarily as a place to display the royal collection, including, from 1692, a collection of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture. In 1692, the building was occupied by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres and the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, which in 1699 held the first of a series of salons. The Académie remained at the Louvre for 100 years. During the French Revolution, the National Assembly decreed that the Louvre should be used as a museum to display the nation's masterpieces.
The museum opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings, the majority of the works being royal and confiscated church property. Because of structural problems with the building, the museum was closed in 1796 until 1801. The collection was increased under Napoleon and the museum was renamed Musée Napoléon, but after Napoleon's abdication many works seized by his armies were returned to their original owners. The collection was further increased during the reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X, and during the Second French Empire the museum gained 20,000 pieces. Holdings have grown steadily through donations and bequests since the Third Republic. The collection is divided among eight curatorial departments: Egyptian Antiquities; Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculpture; Decorative Arts; Paintings; Prints and Drawings.

Phone

+33 1 40 20 50 50

Opening hours

Sunday
09:00 - 18:00

Monday
09:00 - 18:00

Wednesday
09:00 - 22:00

Thursday
09:00 - 18:00

Friday
09:00 - 22:00

Saturday
09:00 - 18:00

Renan Ennes Avila

9 days ago

Obviously the arts are infinitely impressive. The gallery/museum itself needs to improve. It needs better information available for the pieces, it would be also fair to have more things written in English ( as many people from all around the world can easily understand more than French). They need to update those old plastic plates from the 80s. Many areas were not open ( the Egyptian, part of French paintings) and we were not told. The staff are not prepared enough, not considered to explain the directions and one of them try to hit on my wife. The British museum was way more informative and easy to navigate because of better maps and fascinating stories about the pieces. If this is one of the major attraction of the entire country , they need to improve way more. I absolutely recommend to attempt to go see all the areas, even if you can fully engage with arts/ pieces because they are just impressive. The whole building, the history of it construction linked with events should deserve more focus as well (not sure if I missed) but there should be some kind of timeline area showing its development. Anyways, i hope the louvre reads, if not I don’t care either :)

Rodrigo Bastias

22 days ago

While I was traveling in Europe for the 'Map Your World Week' Google #LocalGuides. In my second time in Paris and I keep loving to visit this museum. However their Customer Service has decreasing in its quality in less than 2 years. Staff are not friendly and in the border to be rude. If you are not prepared to work in the Hospitality Industry, then do not do it! - the quantity of visitors per day can not affect the quality of the service that they must provide.

Sarah Laframboise

4 days ago

Absolutely stunning museum, truly one of the best in the world! I was blown away with the pure size of the museum, let alone the variety of its contents. I was impressed with the Roman and Greek sculptures and the room in which they were displayed in. The art collection is like nothing I have ever seen. Admission is 15€ and you get access to the whole museum. There is no way you can get through a majority of the museum in one day, so pick parts that you want to see and prioritize them.

Jesse Ansell

19 days ago

As a person whom is not super arty, I was thoroughly impressed with the breadth of the works here. First, going to see the Mona Lisa is stupid. Just buy it on a postcard and enjoy. The gigantic wall sized paintings in the neighboring wing are far more impressive. The European marble sculptures were probably the most impressive. Busts and figures of seemingly random people with tremendous details that would make a 3D printer tremble. But I found myself looking at the building itself rather than the pieces inside. The ceilings and wall coverings are incredible. I think it was in the Sully wing that was most ornate. Would need more than one day to fully investigate and appreciate everything here.

Dennis Smith

a month ago

I was awestruck by the sculptures arranged in the courtyards; and the rest of the art- pure, functional and historic- were frosting on the cake. I walked through the place in wonder that this is on display to be enjoyed by the common people, and that there is even a level of trust that allows intimacy for the visitor. And the Louvre is handicap accessible. And there are affordable on-site restaurant options. If you enjoy art and are in Paris, it's a must see.

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